Schatz claims Friday's Boot Hill Showdown

Saturday

Jul 6, 2013 at 8:38 AMJul 6, 2013 at 8:43 AM

Second showdown feature takes place tonight

By John CurtisDodge City Daily Globe

Coming around turn four and heading for the finish line on the final lap of Friday's World of Outlaws Boot Hill Showdown, defending series champion Donny Schatz had to hope of some kind of slip up by Tennessee driver Jason Sides for any chance of victory at Dodge City Raceway Park.The 30-lap feature turned into a one-lap sprint and when Sides wobbled and slipped slightly coming off the turn, Schatz dove inside and won the race by a few inches for his second win at DCRP and his series-leading eighth feature of the season."I saw that he had bald tires and I didn't know how bad my tires were, but I made the decision of going under him if he slipped," Schatz said about his race-winning move. "I think I led maybe half-a-foot the entire race. It was one of those things where I could have made the move and blown out a tire, but I was able to get under him and get the win."This is one of those wins that you feel a little sorry for the other driver, especially with how hard and how well he was working. The opening was there and I had to take it."Sides was the pole-sitter, but had a horrid start which allowed Chad Kemenah to lead the first five laps until the first caution came out when 20-time Outlaws series champion Steve Kinser spun out in turn three.Sides was able to regain the lead by the sixth lap and then went through every conceivable way that he could to try to maintain the lead. The Tennessee driver had to endure six cautions (four after lap 24), but was able to pull away each time until after the final yellow when Joey Saldana hit the wall on turn four to set up the final fireworks on the track.Kraig Kinser finished third and Kemenah fourth in the final standings.It was a bittersweet night for Sides. He finished second in the qualifying (only one of two drivers who completed a lap under 13 seconds during the event) and won the six-lap dash to earn the pole for the feature.Schatz, Kraig Kinser and Kemenah were the heat winners of the first night of actiion.A complete new round of racing will take place tonight, starting at 8 p.m.FRIDAY'S BOOT HILLSHOWDOWN RESULTSA Feature (30 Laps, starting grid in parenthesis) — 1. 15-Donny Schatz (3), 2. 7s-Jason Sides (1), 3. 11k-Kraig Kinser (5), 4. 63-Chad Kemenah (2), 5. 9-Daryn Pittman (8), 6. 55x-James McFadden (4), 7. 51-Paul McMahan (12), 8. 6-David Gravel (10), 9. 1-Sammy Swindell (7), 10. 1x-Don Droud, Jr. (15), 11. 11-Steve Kinser (9), 12. 83-Tim Kaeding (16), 13. 29-Kerry Madsen (17), 14. 7-Craig Dollansky (13), 15. 4-Cody Darrah (11), 16. 71m-Joey Saldana (6), 17. 77x-Wayne Johnson (18), 18. 74x-Josh Hodges (14), 19. E85-C.J. Johnson (19), 20. 72-Ray Seemann (20), 21. 97-Brian Herbert (23), 22. 81-Jon Freeman (22), 23. 1j-Danny Jennings (21), 24. 16k-Kaden Taylor (DNS). Lap Leaders: Chad Kemenah 1-5, Jason Sides 6-29, Donny Schatz 30. Qualifying — 1. 9-Daryn Pittman, 12.822, 2. 7s-Jason Sides, 12.971, 3. 55x-James McFadden, 13.008, 4. 1-Sammy Swindell, 13.054, 5. 4-Cody Darrah, 13.116, 6. 51-Paul McMahan, 13.129, 7. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.180, 8. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.194, 9. 11k-Kraig Kinser, 13.236, 10. 71m-Joey Saldana, 13.258, 11. 6-David Gravel, 13.272, 12. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.307, 13. 7-Craig Dollansky, 13.379, 14. 74x-Josh Hodges, 13.400, 15. 1x-Don Droud, Jr., 13.442, 16. 83-Tim Kaeding, 13.516, 17. 29-Kerry Madsen, 13.534, 18. 77x-Wayne Johnson, 13.768, 19. E85-C.J. Johnson, 13.911, 20. 72-Ray Seemann, 14.071, 21. 1j-Danny Jennings, 14.135, 22. 81-Jon Freeman, 14.476, 23. 97-Brian Herbert, 14.569, 24. 16k-Kaden Taylor NT.Dash (8 Laps) — 1. 7s-Jason Sides, 2. 63-Chad Kemenah, 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 4. 55x-James McFadden, 5. 11k-Kraig Kinser, 6. 71m-Joey Saldana, 7. 1-Sammy Swindell, 8. 9-Daryn Pittman, 9. 11-Steve Kinser, 10. 6-David Gravel.